Observations

[larryJ]

Oh yeah..............

Larryj

[larryJ]

Due to my unique ability to predict the future weather, we just went through a few days of 100 degree weather.  Between now and the end of the month the weather will be nice and then our unofficial rainy season begins.  This doesn't mean it is necessarily going to rain, just that is the time of the year for our season to change to more of a cooler and wetter weather.

Observation:  The Chairman of the Board has made a decision to reintroduce ourselves to playing Bingo.    Our son-in-law's parents had sold their house last year and moved to a mobile home park near where my daughter lives.  The CoB found out that they play Bingo there every other Thursday.  So off we went last night to visit with our in-laws, whom we hardly ever see, and play Bingo. 

Now, Bingo has changed in the thousand years since I played it.  Many of you will be familiar with my discoveries last night, but I was quite surprised.  $11 admission gets you in and gives you the cards to play on.  The in-laws were very helpful in showing us how to play the variety of games that they play there.  Straight Bingo, Z Bingo, T Bingo, Two four corner square Bingo, railroad tracks Bingo, Y Bingo, nine square in a corner Bingo and Blackout.  Coffee and cookies were free.  Couldn't eat the cookies, not on my diet, but the coffee was good.  Didn't win anything, but it was interesting to find out about all these configurations of a game that I remember as simply getting five squares in a row. 

Another observation:  As this park is mostly senior citizens, I, at age 68, looked around the room and my wife, her cousin and I seemed to be the only ones who were not totally gray haired.  What a thrill that was! 

I think I need a third cup this morning.  (shudder.)

Larryj

[Diane Amberg]

Our fire company runs Bingo every Monday night at our hall. I started helping sell a couple of the games several years ago when we started being short handed and they stopped allowing smoking in the hall. I, like you had no idea there were so many kinds of games!
There are some sold at the door as part of the entry fee but we also sell several other kinds at the back of the room. They've got me selling a "surprise" early bird game and also a "you pick' em'' where you put in your own numbers. Then there is Elvis and Pink Panther, Betty Boop and several others. There are a couple that are smokers break games too. It takes at least 7 of us to sell them all. Our players are a nice mix of all ages ( around 90 each week) as are our sellers.

[Ms Bear]

When I first moved to Texas I went to Bingo with a new friend and they played all the usual mix of games, sold coffee, popcorn, candy and other snacks.  The beer was free.

[larryJ]

FREEEEE   BEEEER??  I was at the wrong game!  Oh wait, beer has barley, can't do that either.  Oh well.  In-laws brought their own snacks, popcorn and pretzels, but I didn't have any.  They did have some kind of punch, don't know if it was straight punch or not.  I have found out in my older years, you can't pull any wool over those senior's eyes.  They probably spiked it.  Who knows!

All in all, it was a good time.  I am pretty sure we will go again. 

Larryj

[Diane Amberg]

Free beer? Wow, we'd go broke!

[Ms Bear]

I think they got a kick back from the local cops that were waiting just up the street.  They did limit the amount any one consumed during the game.  They had a security guard that was very friendly, he walked us to our car after the game one night and I never went back.  I didn't scare easy but he just caused a red flag or something.

[larryJ]

As mentioned, I went for my monthly visit with the Oncologist.  She gave me an A+ report card.  Free for another four weeks. 

The observation:  The Oncology department used to be on the third floor and the windows looked out onto a street behind the hospital and a view of the maintenance yard.  Last month, they moved to the ground floor with a separate entrance.  Lined with windows, it overlooks the fountains and the duck pond and the main entrance to the hospital.  Most of the clients/patients pass by this office on the way from the parking lot to the hospital.  What I observed this morning:

1 in 10 women are pregnant.
1 in 20 patients are on crutches or in wheelchairs.
1 in 30 are employees.
1 in 40 stop at the coffee kiosk.
1 in 50 stop to look at the fountains.
1 in 100 come into Oncology.  Most are women.
1 in 1000 of the women passing by are outstandingly gorgeous. (IMHO).
1 in 1,000,000 looked at me and smiled.  (I didn't wait around for the millionth one.)

I once had a professor who told us at the beginning of the semester to go buy a lawn chair and sit on the busiest corner in town and we would learn more that he could teach us in that psychology class in the whole semester.  So I love to gir........people watch.  It never gets boring.

Larryj

[larryJ]

Lately, we have developed a pattern of going down to Newport Beach to see our son on the weekends.  Depending on how she feels physically, sometimes my better half is not up to making the trip.  Much of the time that I go, it is to babysit my granddaughter (#3).

Yesterday, while I was at Home Depot looking for paint, I got a text message (kids don't call anymore, they just text) asking if I could come down and babysit.  I got the message at noon and they wanted me there by 4:30.  So I quit looking for paint samples and went home, got my self together and made the 40 mile drive to Newport.  My son and daughter-in-law wanted to meet up with some friends at a local sports bar and watch the USC game.  Most are graduates of USC.  

The observation:  After they had quietly left, my granddaughter and I read a couple of books and then 15 minutes later she took off looking for mommy and daddy.  Two round trips through the house convinced her that it was time to start crying.  My son had mentioned that she hadn't napped much and would probably sleep for a while.  I picked her up and walked around the room and she fell asleep.  That is about the only way you can get her to go to sleep.  I laid her on the couch next to me, turned on the World Series game and everything was good...............for about 20 minutes, then she woke up crying.  I picked her up and we walked around the room and she went back to sleep.  I laid her back down and made a cup of coffee.  There were two more episodes of waking and crying, but I just laid her across my chest with her head on my shoulder and she would go back to sleep.  Mommy and Daddy came home around 8 and my DIL was amazed at how long she had slept.  I, on the other hand, took it quite personally.  Meaning, my granddaughter has come to the conclusion that the old guy who shows up, chases mommy and daddy away and tries to read to me when he knows I can't understand a dang thing he is saying is pretty bad.  I think she thinks I am a boring person and decides to just make the best of the situation and sleep through it.  

Second observation:  Michael Young, the primo hitter on the Rangers, went to junior high school with my son just down the street from my house.  He went on to attend a Catholic High School so he and my son did not attend high school together.  However, we are proud to say that we know him personally..............................well, we can't really remember him from school days, but nobody needs to know that.  

Third observation:  I finally figured out why kids would rather text than call.  When you are having an actual phone conversation and a comment is made or a question is asked, a reply to the comment or answer to the question is expected immediately causing the respondent to have to think quickly.  If you are texting, this is not the case as it gives the receiver of the text time to mull over the response.  If the gap in time is questioned, the response is, "Oh, I just got your message, or, I didn't get your message," or any one of many excuses for not responding, i.e., "I must have been in a dead area and didn't get the text" or "I'm sorry, I was in a meeting and had to shut my phone down..........."  

Larryj

[larryJ]

I am not sure if I have mentioned it, but the house across the street from us is a part of the county or state's rehabilitation program, i.e., a sort of halfway house/managed home care facility.  It is for women only and they sometimes stay a short while and some stay for a longer time.  These women have been abused, or are recovering addicts, or just need managed home care.  The person that owns and operates this place can have up to six residents at one time (four bedroom house.)  Most of the women are not troublesome and mind their own business.  And, like I said, some stay until their families can take them in, or go somewhere else to another similar facility.  One that we have talked to on occasion is a recovering alcoholic and, although she seems to be mentally stable, I have seen her walking down the street talking to herself and she walks a great deal.  One has the mentality of a small child, but does not cause problems, one is an older black lady who never leaves the house except on weekends when her family comes to take her out for the day.  Then, you get the really troublesome ones.  There is one there now who is aggressive with the other women and when the administrator is not looking grabs the phone and dials 911.  She tells the 911 operator that there is a fight going on or she is sick and needs the paramedics, etc.  My next door neighbor, who is not as easy going as I am, is getting fed up with the situation.  This last week has been a real drama act.  Weekend before last, apparently, this woman's family came to see her and she didn't want to see them which resulted in an argument and somebody called the police. Then she tried to get into several cars before the police came. She was taken to a local mental treatment facility for an involuntary 72-hour hold.  Again, this past weekend, her family came again and the cops were called, responding to a disturbance call.  The next day after that, the cops were called again, responding this time to a call involving battery.  Although I heard later that there really wasn't a physical altercation, just threats of one.  Today, when I was taking the oldest GD to school, there were a fire truck, ambulance and a paramedic truck just down the street at someone else's house.  They were gone when I returned.  One half hour later, I took GD#2 to her preschool and upon returning noticed that there was a fire truck and ambulance across the street along with the police.  And, my good neighbor was out talking to them.  In listening to my scanner (old hobby of mine) I heard that it was the same woman who had called 911.  She had requested that all agencies came to her rescue as she was being attacked. 

The observation (whew):  We are now wondering how long it will take before she is removed from the home or if the authorities will shut the home down altogether.  My neighbor is concerned because he has two small children and worries about her coming over to his house while they are playing in the front yard.  He works in his garage a lot so he is always out there with them, but it is still a concern for him. 

Second observation:  We don't need to watch soap operas any more, we have all the drama we can handle right here in river city!

Larryj